


Sometimes Fantasy is Better Than Reality

by hamburr_fangirl



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aaron Burr Smokes, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bottom Aaron Burr, Coffee Shops, Creating Alternate Realities, Destroying Art, Dream Sex(?), Ear Piercings, Eventual Sex, Gift to AzuleOpal, Happy (Late) Birthday! :), It's Pretty Minor, M/M, Painting, Smoking, Sort of Obsessive Behavior, Top John Laurens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-09-16
Packaged: 2019-04-22 13:12:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14309397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamburr_fangirl/pseuds/hamburr_fangirl
Summary: John has a very unique ability, a power he's been able to use since he was just a child. Each time he paints, he creates a new world and can spend a full day there.But what will happen when he chooses to paint a portrait of a very pretty man that visits his cafe? Nothing good, that's for certain.





	1. Meeting You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AzuleOpal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AzuleOpal/gifts).



John frowned as he stared at his painting. Something was missing, he knew that for sure, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He glanced down at his palette, pursing his lips at the colors that decorated it. A mix of blues, reds, and browns stared back at him.

He looked back at the painting, before deciding to add a bit more detail to the trees. Maybe that would help-

"I'm back!"

John cringed at the shrill voice and flinched at the loud bang that followed. He sighed, setting his palette and paintbrush down before taking off his apron and hanging it up. He left the tiny studio, it had actually been a closet but John had no need for so much space for clothing and entered the open kitchen and living room area.

"Alex, do you have to be so loud?" He asked the second he saw his roommate. He snorted quietly when he saw Alexander's appearance. He was dressed in baggy sweatpants and a white tank top. His hair was thrown up in a messy bun and he looked thoroughly exhausted. "Whatcha got there?" John asked when he noticed the grocery bag on the kitchen counter.

"Hmm? Oh, it's just some bananas." Alexander said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a group of bananas.

"You went all the way to the corner store for bananas?" John said.

Alexander shrugged before grabbing a banana. He peeled it and made a show of putting it in his mouth.

"Oh my god, you are so ridiculous," John said. "The only reason you even like bananas is because you like making it overly sexual."

"Hey! They taste good too!" Alexander protested.

John snorted. "They literally taste like nothing."

"They do not! They taste like bananas!"

"Whatever Alex," John said.

Alexander stuck his tongue out before eating the rest of the banana and grabbing another one. He took a bite and glanced at the stove.

"Say John," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you need to go to work?"

John frowned. "No, I still have an hour until my shift."

"Dude, it's eight twenty," Alexander said flatly.

"What? No, it isn't, it's seven..." John's voice trailed off when he saw the numbers on the stove. The bright digits did indeed say eight twenty. John stared at it blankly as it changed to eight twenty-one. His eyes widened.

"Shit!" He said before scrambling to his room.

"Peggy's totally going to kill you," Alexander yelled after him.

John scowled and grabbed his work shirt. He struggled to put on some nice jeans and whirled around as he searched for his keys and phone.

When he reappeared a moment later, Alexander had a shit-eating grin plastered across his face.

"Hello disaster artist." He said.

"Shut up." John snapped, grabbing the new banana out of Alexander's hand.

"Hey!"

"You don't need it." John snatched his jacket off the couch and made his way to the door.

"You've got paint on your face by the way," Alexander said just as John was about to leave.

"Goddammit Alex, why didn't you tell me sooner?" John said.

"You stole my banana."

"You are impossible," John grumbled before quickly checking his reflection in the mirror. The paint smear was pretty faint and since it was brown, it blended in with the many freckles that decorated his skin.

"Peggy won't notice." He said.

"She probably will!"

"I'll see you after work Alex!" John shouted before slamming the apartment door close before Alexander could retort.

He quickly got in the elevator and waited impatiently for it to begin its descent. Annoyance and anxiety bloomed in his chest when the stupid elevator went up a floor to pick someone else up before going to the bottom floor.

The second the doors opened, John was out and in the streets. He glanced at his bag (not a purse!) to make sure it was closed and sprinted down the street. Thank God the cafe he worked at was only two blocks away.

When the large, and brightly colored, words Downtown Café came into view, John couldn't stop the small sigh of relief.

To this day, John still teased the shop owners, Angelica and Eliza Schuyler, about the name. Apparently, when the sisters finally opened their dream cafe, they couldn't think of a good name. Since the coffee shop was in downtown New York, they decided to name it Downtown Café. Uncreative, yes, but it still brought in a lot of business. Mostly sleep deprived colleges students who came in flocks for the cheap, actually decent, coffee. That was actually how John had met Alexander.

The half-asleep idiot had wandered in and ordered his coffee entirely in French. Thankfully John was fluent, but he never let Alexander forget it.

He entered the back door of the cafe and crept inside. He quickly dumped his bag and jacket in his little cubby and started to try and tie his hair back. Try being the keyword.

"John!"

John cringed and turned to face his no doubt, annoyed boss. "Hey Angelica." He said, hands still trying to get his uncooperative hair into the small elastic.

Angelica crossed her arms. "You're late. Again."

"I know I know." His hair finally stayed in place and he quickly twisted the elastic so it kept the poofy locks in place. "I'm really sorry, it won't happen again."

Angelica looked unimpressed. "That's what you said last time."

John gave a forceful laugh and an apologetic grin.

Angelica sighed and uncrossed her arms. "Just get out there." She said. "You know mornings are our busiest time of the day."

John nodded and gave her a mock salute. "Right!"

He slipped his apron on before walking past Angelica and entering the front.

"Morning Laurens. 'Bout time you showed up." His coworker Peggy said with a teasing grin.

"Oh shut it Pegs. At least I know how to use the coffee machine." John retorted.

"That was one time!"

John shrugged.

"Anyways, what's up with you leaving me with the morning crowd to deal with on my own?" Peggy punched his shoulder before leaning up and squinting at him.

"That hurt Peggy!" He said, rubbing the spot she'd hit. She ignored him.

"You were painting again, weren't you?" She accused, taking a step out John's personal bubble.

John smiled nervously. "Um, no?"

"You totally were!" She exclaimed. "You've got paint on your face."

John laughed a bit awkwardly. Goddammit, Alexander had been right.

"I can't believe you! Picking painting over your best friend." Peggy crossed her arms and hmphed.

"Peggy, I'm only a few minutes late," John said. When Peggy didn't budge, John sighed.

"How do I make it up to you?" He asked. They'd been through this routine before. Honestly, most would think that John would learn to not tick Peggy off at this point. It almost always cost him something.

"By getting laid!"

John froze and his mouth dropped open. "W-Wait, what?"

Peggy grinned at him. "It's 'bout time you got laid Mr. John Laurens. I'm sick of you being mopey and lonely! It's time for you to release your tension."

"Please tell me you're joking."

"Nope! Find a decent looking guy, wrestle with him for a night." Peggy wiggled her eyebrows. "And then you'll earn my forgiveness."

"You have no shame do you?" John groaned.

"There is no shame is this beautiful body of mine."

John wanted to slam his head into the wall.

"Peggy, John," Angelica suddenly barked. "Get to work."

"Yes, ma'am!" They both said simultaneously.

They quickly got to work, their coworker Charles Lee taking orders while John made some coffee and Peggy grabbed any food the customers wanted.

They were a decent team, though Lee was often a thorn in John's side. He was constantly trying to one-up him, hoping for better tips. It was pretty stupid considering the three of them split the tips evenly among themselves. He and Lee had gotten into plenty of arguments about it before and it almost always ended in property damage.

Angelica and Eliza were never pleased when that happened and took the cost of repairs out of their paycheck. But Lee was just so infuriating that John couldn't stop picking a fight with him. Someone needed to put the bastard in his place, why not him? (There were plenty of reasons for him not to, but he tactically ignored them.)

"Mocha, Laurens." Lee snapped, roughly handing him the slip of paper with the client name and order. "They also want a shot of espresso."

John grabbed the paper, scowling at Lee. "Yeah, alright." He said. He glanced down at the paper and wrinkled his nose. "Geez, your handwriting is terrible."

"What was that?"

"Lee, we've got lineup. Focus." Peggy snapped before smiling at the next waiting customer. "So sorry for the wait, how may I help you?"

As Peggy and Lee took the next order, John finished up the mocha and gave it to the obviously exhausted student. He got a tired smile for his effort before the student stumbled away to where he'd set up his laptop, no doubt to do homework.

John winced with sympathy. He'd graduated last year from college and he could still remember the bone-deep exhaustion from all those sleepless nights of studying. Thank God he was done.

"Hey, Laurens!" Lee barked. "We've got two caramel coffees up."

John gave him a slight nod, trying to keep the scowl off his face. It really grated on his nerves that Lee acted like his boss. He wasn't dammit! In fact, John was higher on the worker hierarchy than him.

With quiet grumbling, John started to work on the coffees.

After four hours, they finally got their lunch break. Peggy practically skipped to the back, Lee followed with a scowl and John was close behind, giving their replacements Lafayette and Hercules a grin and a high-five.

"Ahhh, finally, break time," Peggy said, flopping down in a seat with a content sigh. John snorted before grabbing his lunch and tossing Peggy hers.

"It wasn't too bad today," John said, unwrapping his sandwich.

"You try running around in ballet flats for four hours." She retorted.

"Trust me, I have," John said bluntly.

"Wait, what? Where was I? How come I didn't get to see you running around in ballet flats?"

"Actually, they were heels," John said. "The first year of college is always the craziest."

"Great, I can't wait," Peggy said. She was in her last year of high school. When John had first met her, she'd been pretty excited about college and university. But then John had crushed her excitement with tales of homework and many sleepless nights.

He wasn't a sadist, but it had been kind of satisfying giving Peggy a reality check.

The rest of lunch break was spent with eating, chatting and scrolling through Twitter. Once it was over, they swapped again with Hercules and Lafayette and got back to work.

Now, working in a coffee shop meant you met some pretty strange people. Normally they got at least one weirdo a week. Today happened to be that day.

John had seen and heard some strange things during his time at the cafe, but he'd never seen a scruffy looking guy walk around with a parrot perched on his shoulder.

"Mercel, what do you want?" The man said.

John stared blankly at the man. He watched as the parrot, Mercel, ruffled its feathers and tilted its head.

"Coffee!" It suddenly squawked loudly.

"Yes I know Mercel, but what type of coffee do you want?" The man asked, sounding annoyed.

"Coffee! I want coffee!" The parrot screeched.

At this point, anyone who hadn't noticed the man earlier was staring at him in shock and confusion.

"Um, sir?" John said after a full minute of the man arguing with the parrot about what coffee it wanted. "Can you please decide what you would like? You're holding up the line."

When the man glared at him and started yelled about how John should have more respect for his customers, John silently thanked every deity out there that Lee had left for the day. He was certain his coworker would've jumped across the counter and strangled the parrot for its screeching.

John sighed before signaling Peggy over. She was better at dealing with the crazy ones.

While Peggy smiled and talked to the man, John went to help the next customer. They were down a staff member so it went a bit slower than usual. Thankfully they didn't have too many people waiting.

John looked away from the coffee he was making and sighed with relief when he saw that the parrot situation had been resolved. The man was now waiting for his and his parrot's coffee with a pleased look on his face.

"Everything good now?" John mumbled to Peggy as they finished the last couple of coffees.

"Yeah, we managed to sort it out," Peggy said back. "Honestly, the guy's a total nut job."

John snorted. "I don't doubt it."

An hour after the parrot incident, Peggy's shift was over and she left with a wave and an order to "get laid already don't forget".

John was kinda glad she'd left.

It was just him and Lafayette left, but Lafayette worked in the back baking all the sweets, so they rarely saw one another.

It was four o'clock, only three more hours until closing. It was a Wednesday and they closed early on Wednesdays. John wasn't really sure why, but he wasn't about to complain. Closing early just meant more time for painting.

He was wiping the counters down, it was near closing time so not many people were around, when he heard the bell above the front door ring. He glanced up and noticed a heavily bundled up man enter. Thinking nothing of it, he continued to wipe the counter down and waited for the newcomer to come to the counter and order.

He heard the footsteps draw near and straightened up with a smile, only for the words to die in his throat.

His eyes widened as he took in the literal piece of art standing before him.

The man, whose face had been covered almost completely by a hood and scarf, was beautiful.

The man had a strong jawline and smooth brown skin. His hair was quite short, just barely long enough to run your fingers through. Decorating his face were a couple of dark freckles that would normally be nearvimpossible to see, but John was an artist and knew how to spot detail.

But the best thing about this man was not his cute shortness, nor his beautiful, soft smile, it was his eyes. They were a deep brown and were twinkling with intelligence.

John swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. He took a deep breath before saying,

"C-Can I take your order?"


	2. Was Like

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the amazing comments last chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was a bit worried it dragged on, but I'm happy you guys didn't seem to think so.

John couldn't tear his eyes away from the beautiful man. The man was talking, he knew the man was talking, but all he could see was lips moving and he heard nothing.

"Are you alright?"

John snapped out of his stupor when the man waved his hand in front of his face, a concerned frown replacing the exhausted blank expression from earlier. John's eyes widened and he started to stutter.

"Could you r-repeat that please?"

The man blinked, before repeating his order. "May I have a medium peppermint hot chocolate please?"

John nodded and started to type on the cash register with a little more force than necessary. He could feel the man's gaze on him and felt his neck heat up with embarrassment.

"T-That'll be two fifty please." He said, face flushing red from the stutter. He'd never felt more embarrassed in his life. He wasn't normally this awkward around attractive people! Why was this man so different?

The man dug out some cash from his pockets and placed it in John's waiting hand with a crooked smile.

John tried to smile back, but he was certain the man could tell it was forced.

"Would you like a receipt?" He asked, putting the cash into the register and grabbing a cup to write the order on. The man shook his head.

"No, thank you." He said.

John gave him a shaky nod. "Your order will be right out." He said and quickly left to begin the order, not waiting for an answer.

As he made the hot chocolate, he couldn't help but glance over at the man. He truly was gorgeous. Honestly, he was basically everything John wanted in a partner. Strong jawline, sweet smile, soft but intelligent eyes. The perfect height, just short enough that John could rest his chin on his shoulder comfortably.

His eyes widened and he felt blood rush to his face. What was wrong with him? He didn't even know the man's name for Christ's sake and he was already fantasizing about being in a relationship with him.

He scowled, annoyed with himself. He finished the hot chocolate and called out the order.

"Thank you." The man said, taking the drink from him. John gave him another nod before quickly leaving the situation. No need to embarrass himself even further to such an attractive customer. He sighed and returning to cleaning up the shop.

After another hour, most people had trickled out. Only two people had wandered in, mostly to escape the cold. And so, John was stuck doing nothing much of anything. Most of the time, he was either scrolling through his phone or attempting to subtly look at the pretty man who was sitting literally only a few feet away. (He wasn't very subtle.)

With a groan, John went to the back to grab his sketchbook. He was bored out of his mind, it wouldn't hurt to do a bit of drawing. He knew he'd get bored at work eventually, so he always kept one of his sketchbooks in his bag for just said occasion.

He went back out to the front and stole one of the bar stools to sit on. He had just under an hour to sketch before he had to close up.

He glanced up at the man, noting that he'd barely moved for the past two hours. He was still hunched over his laptop, still had one hand curled around a pen that occasionally scribbled things down, and still sometimes reached for his mug, only to realize it was either empty or cold and put it back to down.

He reminded John of Alexander, though this man was far more put together. Well, as put together as a sleep-deprived college student could be.

John stared at him for as long as he dared, before beginning to sketch an outline. He knew it wasn't exactly a good thing to do, but a little sketch of the man wouldn't hurt, right? It wasn't like he was going to sell the art. Just... keep it for himself. After all, he didn't know if the man was ever going to return to the cafe. Could you really blame him for wanting to remember such a beautiful face?

The cafe was peaceful as John sketched the stranger's face while said stranger studied. Well, John was assuming he was studying. It didn't look like he was taking enough notes for it to be a project or paper. But then again, maybe the man just had a good memory.

John frowned as he stared at his half-finished sketch. He had been working on it for a good half-hour, but he just couldn't seem to get the man's ears and nose right. He tilted his head before sneaking a glance up to study the man for a moment. His eyes light up when he caught what he'd been doing wrong. The man's nose wasn't quite as pointy as John had originally made it and his head was tilted at a slightly different angle.

John stuck his tongue out in concentration, erasing the head he'd drawn and redoing it, grinning to himself when the ears finally looked okay, before starting on the nose.

It was only when John's phone rang that he realized how late it was.

"Hello?"

"John, where are you?"

John blinked. "Alexander? I'm at work."

"Still? I thought your shift ended at seven on Wednesdays."

"It does..." John glanced at the clock and his eyes went wide when he saw the time. "Holy shit, I didn't realize it was eight o'clock."

"You dumbass." Alexander chided, though he sounded more amused than anything.

"Shut up, not like you're much better. I'll be home in like, ten minutes."

"Mkay. I suggest you hurry." Alexander said. "I've got pizza and I ain't about to wait."

"What?" John shrieked loudly, flushing when he noticed the man staring at him with confusion. "There better be pizza when I get back, you hear me?"

All he heard was Alexander cackling before he hung up.

"Goddammit," John muttered, shoving his phone back into his pocket.

He looked at the man, who seemed like he wanted to say something, but ultimately kept quiet and returned his attention back to his laptop.

Since he now had a reason to hurry, John rushed around the cafe, cleaning up after some neglectful customers, sweeping the floors one last time, emptying the register, etc.

Once he'd finished all his tasks, he went to the back and grabbed his jacket and bag. He switched the lights off and returned to the front, making sure the counter was locked. He then walked over to the man, who now had earbuds in. John frowned. Had he always had earbuds in? Weird.

"Um, sir," he said, lightly tapping the man's shoulder.

The man flinched and looked up, tugging his earbuds loose.

"Oh, is it closing time?" He asked.

John internally swooned at the man's voice, it was just so smooth and pretty sounding.

Ahh stupid gay thoughts, not now.

"Yeah, sorry about that." He said instead of blurting out: 'you have a really nice voice and eyes and-'

"I'll just grab my things and be on my way. I'm sorry if I've kept you." The man said, already stuffing his laptop into its bag.

"Take your time," John said because fuck, he couldn't make the guy feel bad about it, could he? And besides, it was mostly John's fault. He really should have kicked him out earlier.

The man gathered his things, and god he was so tiny dressed in so many layers, carrying such large, thick textbooks. He threw his cup out and gave John a smile.

"Thank you for letting me stay." He said.

"Wasn't a problem," John said, even though he was almost one hundred percent sure he was not getting any pizza, because Alexander had like no patience.

The man gave him a lovely smile and instantly all annoyance melted out of John.

"Well, I appreciate it anyway." He said, reaching for the door.

"Wait!"

The man turned his head, confusion clear on his face.

"Yes?"

John pursed his lips and shuffled a bit uncomfortably. "What's your name? Mine's John."

The man blinked. "My name is Aaron." He said.

"Nice to meet you, Aaron." John shook his hand before letting go. They both stood there, shifting as an awkward silence fell over them.

"Um, I'm just gonna go back to my campus now," Aaron said.

John nodded, a small, forced laugh escaping him. "Right, uh, see you later?"

Aaron gave him a soft smile and nod before exiting the cafe.

The second he was gone, John let out a muffled scream.

"Ah! What the fuck is wrong with me?" He moaned as he locked up the cafe. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and continued on home.

"Shit... why did he have to look so cute?" He muttered to himself, flushing slightly as he thought of how adorable Aaron had looked all bundled up in his large jacket and scarf.

"What the fuck is wrong with me..." He muttered again, entering his apartment building and walking up the stairs to his and Alexander's room. He fiddled with his keys before finally sliding it into the lock and opening the door.

"You're home!" Alexander greeted, giving him a nod. He smirked when he saw John's expression. "Don't worry, there's still some pizza left."

John noticeably relaxed. "Good, I probably would be killed if there weren't. I'm fucking starving."

Alexander snorted, waking over to the couch and plopping down. John went to the kitchen to grab some food before joining him.

"What've you been up to today?" John asked, sighing as he took a bite of the warm pizza.

"Homework. Duh." Alexander said.

John rolled his eyes. "Why don't you expand on that."

"Just some stupid paper. My psych professor doesn't know what he's talking about."

John groaned. "Don't tell me you're writing an essay about how he's wrong and all that shit."

Alexander only sent him a mischievous grin.

"Ugh, when I was still in college, we had like no time to do extra work," John said.

"Times change, old man."

"I'm not that old! I'm only a year and like three months older than you!"

"Still old."

"I'm twenty-two," John said. "You're turning twenty in like, three months."

Alexander shrugged. "You're still old. Anyways, wanna watch a movie?"

"Workaholic Alexander Hamilton wants to stop, relax, and watch a movie?" John gasped dramatically. "What has the world come to."

"Oh shut up!" Alexander said, shoving him off the couch.

John let out a shriek as he fell, giggles still escaping his mouth as he lay there. Once he calmed down, which took a few minutes, the look on Alexander's face had been priceless, he picked up his discarded pizza, ate it, and curled up against Alexander to watch the movie.

If some crazy girl were to randomly walk in them, she'd probably shriek with joy at how gay they looked. But John and Alexander were just close, physical friends. There had been a time when John had harbored a crush on Alexander, but it faded pretty quickly. Alexander was a bit too much like John for them to ever work well together as a couple. They were both too stubborn and expressive. They already fought enough as friends, it would just never work out if they were partners. At least as friends, they could beat each other up in arguments without it seeming too weird.

As they watched the movie, John's thought drifted back to Aaron. He didn't know a lot about the man, but he just seemed so... so amazing. And like, perfect? There was definitely more to the quiet man than what met the eye. He had this aura about him that John couldn't seem to get enough of.

His fingers twitched, and he was overcome with the desire to start sketching Aaron again. He hadn't finished his first one yet and he could still picture Aaron's position in his mind.

"You okay John?" Alexander asked.

"Hmm?" John hummed, only then realizing that he was shifting about and staring at the wall. "Oh, I'm fine."

"Lemme guess. You wanna draw."

"Ah... yeah." John laughed sheepishly. "You know how I get when I have an urge."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "But does your artist urge or whatever always have to interrupt us during our bonding time?"

"Alexander, we're watching," he glanced at the TV. "Finding Dory and not even talking."

"We're bonding!" Alexander insisted, but he was grinning.

"You are so weird," John said, laughing.

"Go draw you, crazy artist."

"More like poor artist."

"Go!" Alexander shoved John off the couch again before returning his attention back to the TV.

John walked into his art studio and sat down at his table. He took out his sketchbook, grabbed a pencil, and started to draw. He could still see Aaron's furrowed brows as he concentrated on his work, the gentle glow of the laptop, lighting up Aaron's face in all the right places. His soft looking skin resting on the table, the amount of paper scattered around him and his long, nimble fingers holding the pencil against the paper.

It took time, but he managed to finish Aaron's body. He knew it wasn't great, but he thought it was decent considering he no longer had his model. He then moved on to work on Aaron's eyes. He pursed his lips as he began to lightly draw out Aaron's eyes, trying to find the right mix of concentration, intelligence, and softness.

"Yo John."

John looked up from his sketch to see a sleepy looking Alexander in the doorway.

"I fell asleep on the couch." Alexander yawned. "You know it's like midnight, right?"

John blinked and glanced at his phone. "Oh." He muttered, suddenly realizing how heavy his eyes are.

"Go the fuck to sleep Jackie," Alexander said. "Peggy won't be happy if you're half asleep tomorrow."

John stared at his sketch, before carefully closing the book. Alexander did have a point. What if Aaron came in tomorrow and John was practically asleep? Not a great second impression.

"Alright." He said, standing up and stretching. "You sleep too though. I know you only got like, three hours last night."

"No promises," Alexander said with a nod. "Night."

John gave him a wave. "Night."

Alexander wandered off, hopefully to bed, and John quietly turned the light off for his studio and went to his own room. He quickly changed before collapsing on his warm bed and passing out.

His dreams were full of one beautiful, small, and intelligent man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh John. Stop being creepy.
> 
> Btw, John tends to swear a lot when he's hungry. And angry. And frustrated.


	3. Listening

John tapped the counter, a bored expression on his face. Peggy was off to the side, sweeping up a small mess a customer had made a few minutes ago.

It was a slow day today. There was still a morning rush, but it was hardly anything to be impressed about, especially compared to Fridays rush. He sighed and began to tap his finger at a faster pace.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lee shoot him an irritated glare, which he promptly ignored.

John grinned at Peggy when she rolled her eyes at them, a warning clear in her eyes. Don't get into another fight her eyes practically screamed. He gave her a tiny salute before returning to his tapping, smirking when Lee released an irritated growl.

"Good morning boys."

John looked up with a grin. "Hey, Eliza. And you do remember I'm actually a year older?"

Eliza smiled and laughed. "Well, you certainly don't act like it."

"Shut up." He said, sticking his tongue out playfully. " I'm super mature, I don't know what you're talking about."

"She's not wrong," Peggy said.

"Not you too! You're both so mean to me." He pouted.

Peggy and Eliza both giggled, hiding smirks. John rolled his eyes, a teasing smile on his face.

"So, what're you doing here Eliza?" Peggy asked.

"I figured I'd check in on you two. Plus, I need to take inventory." She explained, slipping behind the counter with them.

"Makes sense," Peggy said with a shrug. "Oh, are you still driving me to the hair salon after my shift?"

Eliza blinked. "Oh, I forgot about that. Sure thing Peggy."

Peggy grinned. "Sweet. Thanks."

"What color are you dyeing your hair this time?" John asked, wiping some crumbs into his hand and dumping them into the trash.

"I was thinking an ombre pink," Peggy said.

"That'd look pretty nice," John said. Her hair was currently a cool teal, but it was pretty faded from time. It looked nice on her, but John could definitely picture her with pink hair. It would probably match all her yellow clothing as well.

"I know right? I was thinking the same thing. And I was also thinking of getting a nose piercing."

John quirked a brow. "Really?"

Peggy nodded, grinning. "I also kinda want a cartilage piercing like yours. It's pretty hot, to be honest."

John chuckled. "Considering you're a raging lesbian, I'll take that as a compliment."

Peggy smirked at him. "You should. Speaking of homosexuality, have you gotten laid yet?"

John's face flushed bright red and turned even darker when he heard Eliza giggle. "Peggy!"

"Don't forget our agreement, Mister. No forgiveness until you get off your sorry ass and get a man. You've been single too long."

"Peggy..."

"I'm serious! After your little crush on Alex was over, you never went for a new man. Hell, you've never even shown interest in another dude!"

John sighed. "Maybe I just haven't found the right one Pegs. I don't really want to just have a one-night stand anyways."

That much was true. John had had enough of those back in university. He wanted something real now. He wanted to cuddle and love someone. He wanted to pour his heart out to his boyfriend and have them pour their heart out to him.

He just wanted unconditional love. To both give and receive it. One-night stands won't give him that.

"Peggy, I don't wanna have a one-night stand." He said plainly.

Peggy arched a pierced brow. "Fine then. Get a date."

John groaned. "I can't."

"Why not?" Peggy crossed her arms.

"I am not good at getting dates!"

Peggy snorted. "John, I've seen you flirt. You're pretty damn smooth."

John scowled. "I can't okay I just-"

The bell over the front door rang and John glanced at it. His eyes widened and his face flushed when he saw Aaron's bundled up figure. He couldn't stop the smile from overtaking his face.

"Morning Aaron." He greeted once Aaron was at the counter.

Aaron smiled as he unraveled his scarf. "Good morning."

"What d'you want?" John leaned on the counter, unable to look away from Aaron's pretty brown eyes.

"I'll have a small hot chocolate and a croissant, please," Aaron said, digging around his pockets for his wallet. He handed the five dollar bill to John and their fingers brushed. As John put the cash away and counted out the change, he couldn't help but think about just how warm Aaron's hands had been against his own cold ones.

Thoughts of them walking around together holding hands flashed through his mind before he could stop them and he blushed at the thought. Why did Aaron always make him think embarrassing things? He never even thought of stuff like hand holding back when he had a crush on Alexander!

"Here's your change." He said.

"Thank you." Aaron gave him another lovely smile, (if John were alone, he would've swooned), and walked over to the same table as yesterday.

Trying to get the stupidly large grin off his face, he wrote 'small HC' on a cup, handed it to Lee, then went to grab the croissant.

As he grabbed the croissant, he saw Peggy grinning at him.

"What?" He snapped.

Peggy's grin grew. "I see you have a little crush."

John flushed and scowled. "I barely know him, Peggy. I literally met him yesterday.

Peggy hummed, focusing on Aaron. "He's pretty cute. And hot."

"Trust me, I know," John said. "He's really fucking beautiful, it's almost unfair."

"John, your gay is showing," Peggy said.

John rolled his eyes. "It's always showing."

"True. Anyways, why don't you ask him out?"

"Are you insane! I barely know him. I'll probably freak him out if I ask him out." John said.

Peggy shrugged. "He might not always be around. You should give it a shot."

"Maybe when I know him better... besides, I don't even know if he's gay or not."

"Yeah, well, just don't hide. I don't need you moping around because you missed your chance. We don't need a repeat of Alex."

"You and I both know that we would've never worked out together," John said.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Just don't make the same mistake with this guy." Peggy smirked. "And I'm pretty sure he's homosexual."

"What makes you say that?"

"Did you not notice the pride bracelet he was wearing?" She said. "Pretty sure he's gay. Or at least a huge supporter. He won't hate you if you ask him out."

"Fine. I'll ask him out. But not until I know him better."

"Alright, alright. If he's still here, you should hang out with him during your lunch break."

"What? No-"

"Laurens!" Lee snapped. "Where's the croissant? And we've got a line of customers, hurry the hell up."

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled, handing Lee the croissant before greeting the next customer.

The next two hours went by at a snail's pace. Very few people walked in, so John spent most of his time sketching. Every time Peggy tried to see what he was drawing, he refused to show her. He was a bit scared of what she'd think if she saw his sketch of Aaron. Especially since he hadn't asked for the man's permission. After her fifth attempt, Peggy seemed to give up and just went on her phone.

John glanced over at Aaron, eyes widened a fraction when he spotted a cartilage piercing on his ear, as well as two studs near the top of his ear. His face flushed. Fuck, Peggy was right. A cartilage piercing was really hot. He quickly looked back down at his sketch and added the piercing. It was only one hoop, but it looked so good on Aaron.

"John," Peggy nudged him with her foot. "It's lunch break now."

"K." He said, sticking his tongue out as he shaded Aaron's new piercings.

"And your lover boy is still here."

"He's not my-"

"Go sit with him," Peggy said.

"Peggy, I don't want to."

"Go!" She practically dragged him to the other side of the counter and then locked it. "Just go talk to him, John. Find out what he's majoring or whatever. Just talk!"

He scowled. "Okay, okay." He muttered. He was glad the cafe was near empty.

He walked over to Aaron and tapped his shoulder. "Mind if I sit here?" He asked.

Aaron flinched and looked up, a startled expression on his face. "Oh, sure thing John." He said.

John gave him a smile and slid into the opposite bench to him. Aaron tugged his earbuds out and smiled at John.

"Aren't you supposed to be working?" He asked.

"Lunch break," John said. "And my coworker kicked me out of the break room."

Aaron let out a small chuckle. "I see."

"So, what's your major?"

"I'm studying to be a lawyer," Aaron said.

John grinned. "Really? My friend Alexander is studying law as well."

"Your friend wouldn't happen to be Alexander Hamilton?" Aaron said.

John smiled. "I take it you've met him."

"Honestly, it's kind of hard not to know who he is. I share a couple of classes with him and he never shuts up. It's quite irritating."

John laughed. "It can be. But at least you don't have to live with the guy."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

John burst into laughter. Aaron had sounded so genuine. "You get used to his rambling. Once that happens, you start to find it endearing."

"I don't think I'll ever find his inability to stop and think before opening his mouth endearing," Aaron said dryly.

John shrugged, still smiling. "I will admit it was annoying at first."

"The fact that he rambles doesn't irritate me nearly as much as the fact that he won't let his opponent in the debate get a word in. He always assumes he's right, it's incredibly frustrating."

"Alex does have the bad habit of assuming he's the smartest in the room and that everyone else are morons because they don't agree with him," John admitted. "But he could be a lot worse."

"I suppose. But both he and Thomas Jefferson are in some of my classes and because the two hate each other and refuse to compromise or listen to one another, they drag their arguments through the whole class until the teacher snaps at them."

John wrinkled his nose. "I remember Jefferson. He was a bit of a prick."

"No more than Alexander though."

"Maybe that's why the two are always arguing. They're too alike."

Aaron shrugged. "I think it's sexual tension."

John choked on air. "W-What?"

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed?" Aaron said. "I swear, one of these days those two are going to have the most intense hate sex ever. I guarantee they'll be sort of boyfriends by the end of the year."

"I never would've thought of it on my own, but now that I think about it, I can totally see it."

"Right?" Aaron exclaimed. "I'm just waiting for the day I walk into class and they're just angrily making out."

John cringed. "I pity you when that happens."

"I pity you when you walk into your apartment and see them having sex."

John groaned and hit his head on the table. "Oh god... why did you have to put that image in my head?"

Aaron smirked.

They continued to talk until John saw Peggy watching with a wide smirk. He glanced at the clock and realized an hour had already passed.

"Aw shit," John muttered.

"What is it?" Aaron asked.

"I gotta go back to work," John said. "It was nice talking to you though."

Aaron smiled. "Yes, it was."

"Maybe we could do it again sometime?" John said, cringing at how awkward that sounded.

Aaron didn't seem to mind and nodded. "Sounds good. What's your number?"

"It's uh, can I just type it in?" John asked.

Aaron nodded and handed him his phone. John tried not to coo at the cute cat background he had. God Aaron was just so adorable.

He typed in his number before handing the phone back.

"Text me, yeah?"

Aaron nodded. "Sure thing."

John grinned before returning to work.

"John you smooth mother fucker," Peggy said, punching his shoulder.

"Ow!" John yelped. "What was that for?"

"You got his number, didn't you?" She said.

"Well, he got my number..."

"That's great!" Peggy said, tackling him in a huge.

John grunted and stumbled back a bit. "You are way too excited about this."

"When was the last time you got a guy's number?"

"I-"

"And Alex doesn't count."

John stayed silent.

"A long fucking time, right?" She said. "This is cause for celebration."

"Peggy please."

"Tomorrow, I'm bringing cupcakes."

John groaned, face bright red as Peggy continued to embarrass him. "You're impossible." He said.

"Maybe, but you love me." She chirped.

"I have never regretted something so much."

She punched his shoulder again. "Don't be mean."

"Sorry, sorry."

They got back to work soon after that. Aaron left about an hour later, giving John a sweet smile before walking out. Peggy teased him about it until her shift was over.

Now, it was closing time. He was thankful his phone hadn't died yet. He'd been sketching and playing on his phone for the past nine hours, considering few people had walked in. He really hated Thursdays. It was always so empty and boring.

He kicked out the two college students that were still there and locked up the cafe before heading home. He walked into the apartment, rolling his eyes when he saw that Alexander's light was on.

"Alex, I'm home," he said, knocking gently on the door. He got a grunt in return, which was enough for John. Since Alexander's wasn't dead, he went to his art studio. He put his sketchbook down on the table and studied it. He'd managed to finish the sketch of Aaron and as he stared at it, he started to imagine what it would look like painted. Once he started to picture it, he couldn't help himself and grabbed a fresh canvas, placing the one with the trees off to the side. He could finish that one later.

Biting his lip softly, he started to draw the outline for the painting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have a thing for cartilage piercings...


	4. To a Song

It had been a week since John had started the painting. Every night once he got home from work, he would go to his studio and work on it. After a few hours, he'd head to bed. When he woke up the next morning, he worked on it some more until Alexander knocked on the door and told him he was going to be late for work.

Despite all the sleep deprivation and deep exhaustion, John was enjoying painting the portrait. He was pretty pleased with how it was turning out, but he was certain he could do better. But considering he was going off a sketch, he was happy with the outcome.

"John," Alexander peeked inside the studio, an annoyed look on his face. "This is the fourth time this week. It's time for you to go to work."

"Oops. Sorry, Alex."

Alexander rolled his eyes. "So, what're you working on?"

John tensed and moved his body in front of the portrait. "Nothing you need to see." He said.

Alexander put his hands up in surrender. "Mkay. Whatever buddy. I know I'll see it sooner or later."

John snorted. "Keep telling yourself that. Now go away!"

Alexander backed away and shut the door. John let out a huff, before carefully backing away from the painting to inspect it. He pursed his lips, before deciding he'd done enough today and he took his apron off. He carefully cleaned his paintbrushes, before leaving the small closet and going to his room to get ready for work.

A few minutes later, he returned to the studio and carefully put a cloth over the portrait. The paint he used dried relatively quickly, so he figured it would be fine.

He washed his hands in the bathroom then went to the kitchen.

"Alexander, why is the fridge empty?" He asked, frowning when he saw nothing inside. He knew for sure that yesterday they'd had a couple of pieces of fruit left...

"The fruit was spoiled so I threw them out," Alexander responded.

John groaned before glancing at the clock.

"Fuck." He muttered. There was no time left. He had five-ten minutes to get to work. "Goddammit." He growled as he snatched his jacket and grabbed his keys.

"I'm going to work Alex." He shouted before slamming the door shut and stomping his way downstairs. Thankfully, by the time he made it to the cafe, he had cooled off enough to seem professional.

"Morning John." Peggy greeted, far too cheerful for the morning.

"'Ello," John grumbled, holding back a yawn and rubbing his eyes.

Peggy sighed and put her hands on her hips. "Don't tell me you pulled an all-nighter last night."

John gave her a sheepish grin.

"Are you kidding me?" She cried. She glared at him and poked him firmly in the chest. "You." Poke. "Are so." Poke. "Irresponsible!"

Another harsh poke and John winced, stumbling back.

"I got a few hours of sleep." He protested.

Peggy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "You need to take care of yourself, dammit." She scolded.

"I know, I know. But I've been working on a new project." John said, putting his apron on. He'd put his hair up when he'd been painting.

"That's no excuse!" Peggy said.

"Sorry, sorry. I'll do better."

Peggy snorted. "Somehow I doubt that."

John smiled.

"Oh, by the way," Peggy said. "Lee isn't coming in today."

John's smile fell and he scowled. "That's the third time this month alone."

Peggy sighed and shrugged. "Nothing we can do. Herc's gonna help us in the front today."

"What about Laf?" John asked.

"Hercules can just go back and forth. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Alright. Like the hair by the way." He said. She had ended up dying it a nice magenta pink. It faded nicely with her dark brown hair.

Peggy snorted. "Nice deflect."

John gave her a grin.

"Morning you two."

John's grin widened. "Herc! Nice to see you, man."

The taller man smiled, showing off his white teeth. "Back at you. How's Alex?"

"As sleep deprived as usual," John replied dryly. "Pretty sure he's going to bed at like three in the morning every night."

Hercules rolled his eyes. "Course he is."

"Maybe you should come over and manhandle him to bed," John said. Hercules was a pretty big guy, a few inches above both Alexander and John. Not to mention he worked out, so he definitely had the muscles to force Alexander to bed.

Hercules snorted. "Have you meet Alex? He's like a cat. He'd end up scratching, biting and hissing at me is I tried to get him to sleep."

Peggy giggled. "Does he really do that?"

John nodded. "Yup. Especially when he's working on something for school that's due that week."

"He's like a wild animal sometimes," Hercules said.

"Geez." Peggy shook her head.

"Moving on, Peggy's been telling me you've got a sweetheart," Hercules said with a smirk.

John choked on his own spit and spluttered.

"W-what?" He screeched, ignoring the looks he received from customers. "H-he's not m-my-"

"His name is Aaron," Peggy said with a sly smirk. "He's really cute."

Hercules wiggled his eyebrows. "Is he now?"

"You guys!" John whined.

"Are we not allowed to talk about your love life, John?" Peggy asked innocently.

"No, you're not!"

Hercules laughed. "Too bad. That's what friends are for."

"Wait... are you painting a portrait of Aaron?" Peggy squealed.

"No!" John denied before flushing at their expressions of disbelief. "Okay. Maybe?"

"That's adorable," Peggy said seriously.

"You gonna show it to him?" Hercules asked.

John shrugged and at that moment the cafe doorbell rang at someone walked in. Relieved at the distraction, he greeted the customer with a wide smile.

He talked briefly with the customer, relaying their order to Peggy who started on the coffee with a look that clearly screamed 'we're talking more later'. After that, there was a steady flow of customers, but John was slightly disappointed when he caught no sign of Aaron.

Peggy snickered at his expression when lunch break finally rolled around, but she thankfully kept her snide remarks to herself.

John spent his break in the break room with Peggy, who was busy scrolling through Instagram and occasionally shoving her phone in his face to show him pretty make-up and hair. John spent it sketching. Or at least attempting it.

He wasn't drawing Aaron today and he kept getting distracted with thoughts of the other man. He scowled and accidentally pressed his pencil down too hard. He frowned and erased it, frown deepening when it still left a faint mark. He sighed before flicking to a different page and attempting a new sketch.

Once again, his thoughts drifted away to his slight annoyance. What was it about Aaron that made John unable to stop thinking about him? It was frustrating beyond belief. Each time he saw the other man, all he wanted to do was hug him tight and pepper his face with kisses.

He groaned before abandoning his sketchbook. There was no way he'd be able to draw now.

"I'm going back to the front." He said. Peggy smirked but gave him a nod when he left.

He wandered out to the front, grabbing a broom and beginning to sweep up. He could feel Hercules' eyes on him as he did and he promptly ignored his coworker. He couldn't explain why he felt so irritated, so off.

The front door's bell rang and John's head shot up. He couldn't suppress the grin that came up.

"Hey, Aaron." He said, walking over to the shorter man. Once Aaron had managed to untangle himself from his jacket, he smiled at John.

"Hello, John. How're you today?" He asked, walking over to the counter.

"Pretty good. A bit tired though. I've been staying up to work on a project." John said, leaning slightly on his broom.

Aaron ordered a hot chocolate, as usual, and a veggie sandwich. "I hope you've been taking care of yourself."

"I'm fine." John insisted, following Aaron to a table and taking a seat.

Aaron settled down beside him and started to munch on his sandwich. "What's the project?" He asked.

John grinned. "I'm painting a portrait."

Aaron blinked and smiled. "I didn't realize you were an artist."

John nodded, tucking some stray hair behind his ear. He resisted the urge to smile shyly. "Yeah, I've been drawing for a really long time. Since I was seven or eight."

"May I see some of your work?" Aaron asked, eyes bright.

John blinked. "Um, y-yeah! Sure thing. Let me go grab my sketchbook."

He practically ran to the break room, ignoring Peggy's slightly questioning look when he snatched his sketchbook and hurried back out. Once he reached Aaron, he noticed that the man had finished his sandwich and was now calmly sipping his hot chocolate.

"Here it is." John said, handing Aaron his sketchbook, trying to hide just how nervous he was. Aaron accepted it with a smile and opened it.

John squirmed in his seat, staring intently at his lap, and tried to control his breathing when he heard Aaron let out a soft gasp.

"These are amazing." He breathed out.

John's head shot up and he grinned nervously as he watched Aaron gently trace whatever image he was on.

"Thanks, I-I guess." He stuttered, mentally scowling at himself. I guess? What kind of response was that? He shook his head and focused back on Aaron. He watched as Aaron carefully flipped the page, eyes lighting up with awe each time he saw the next sketch.

It was only when he'd gotten about halfway through the sketchbook that John realized his mistake.

"Is this... is this me?" Aaron asked, eyes focused on the drawing.

John's face burst into flames and he was suddenly very tempted to go bury himself in a hole and never leave.

"I-I... um... yes..." he said in defeat, staring down at his feet in shame.

"It's... it's beautiful John."

John looked up and watched as Aaron stared at the sketch with soft eyes.

"I can't believe you view me in this way..." he mumbled.

"What'd you mean by that?" John asked.

Aaron shrugged. "You made me look so beautiful." He said quietly.

John frowned and opened his mouth to answer, but he was interrupted by a hand on his shoulder.

"Hate to interrupt," Peggy said, looking all too pleased that she had. "But you've gotta get back to work John."

"Uh, r-right," John muttered. Aaron handed the sketchbook back, looking a bit lost. John swallowed and left quickly, putting his sketchbook away and returning to work.

Aaron left after he finished his hot chocolate. He still seemed a bit dazed and it was seriously causing John to be tense and anxious.

Both Hercules and Peggy noticed the shift but kept to themselves thankfully.

Peggy and Hercules left around the same time, leaving John alone with his raging thoughts. Fear and anxiety surrounded him as he thought about Aaron's reaction to the sketch. While he was glad Aaron hadn't accused him of being a creepy stalker, he was still confused and worried about what his reaction had been.

"You made me look so beautiful."

Those words bounced around in John's head, refusing to leave him be. Was Aaron that self-conscious that he didn't see his own beauty? The thought made John's stomach twist with discomfort. He didn't like that Aaron was that self-conscious. The man was beautiful and he wished that Aaron could see that.

His shift ended around nine o'clock and he hurried to pack up and close. He pursed his lips as he walked home, thoughts of Aaron and his portrait at home swirling in his mind. The portrait was almost completed. Just a couple more small details to finish up. He could probably get them all done in an hour or less.

He entered his apartment and peeked inside Alexander's room. He smiled, thankful his roommate was sleeping.

He went to his studio, pausing for a moment at the door before grabbing a sign that read 'artist in work'. Alexander what it meant and wouldn't disturb him or worry about him.

He picked up his palette and paintbrush and got to work. It took the estimated hour and John took a step back to see what else might need doing. His sharp eyes caught a tiny white space near the corner of the canvas.

John took a deep breath before grinning. He raised his brush and made the last stroke. The painting was completed.

He closed his eyes and allowed the swirl of colors to drag him into the unknown.


	5. For the

John opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear his vision. He watched as the colors around him slowly begin to take the form of a large room. He squinted his eyes, glancing down at his hands. He watched with fascination as a swirl of brown and white slowly formed into a warm cup of coffee. No matter how many times he witnessed the swirl of colors taking shape into various objects, it always amazed and captivated him.

He looked around and saw that his surrounding area was almost finished forming. He blinked and straightened, curiosity burning through him. The spot he was in looked like a cafe, but it didn't resemble The Downtown Cafe. He pursed his lips and was surprised when he realized that Aaron was nowhere to be found.

He frowned. That didn't make sense. Aaron was clearly the focal point of the physical painting, so where was he?

As of on cue, the front door opened and in walked Aaron. John's frowned deepened. Now that he could see Aaron up close, he could definitely pick out mistakes ad imperfections. Like the fact that Aaron skin tone was just a tad too light and his eyes were slightly too large. Suddenly, Aaron's gaze landed on John and his eyes lit up with joy.

"John!" He said with a kind smile.

"Hey, Aaron," John said and his eyes widened when Aaron walked over and hugged him before  kissing his cheek.

"I've missed you." Aaron said softly, sitting down beside John and smiling adoringly at him.

"I missed you too," John replied, trying to play on along. This was always the worst part when he went into a painting. Finding out the context of the events.

"So, what do you have planned?" Aaron asked, beautiful brown eyes bright.

John barely contained his surprise at the question. What did he have planned? Did Aaron mean as a date? Or just hanging out as friends? He pursed his lips. No doubt as a couple, considering Aaron had kissed his cheek and was staring at him with pure love.

"I thought a coffee date would be good." He said, smiling down at his smaller companion. "We can do some catching up."

"That sounds perfect," Aaron said. He smiled again before standing up. "I'm going to grab myself a drink. I'll be right back." 

He kissed John's cheek again and walked over to the counter. With each step he made towards the counter, a barista started to swirl into existence, an easygoing smile on her face. It was then that John realized she looked like Peggy. There were enough differences that it was easy to tell that it wasn't her, but their size and make-up were very similar. Instead of pink tips, the woman had a deep purple and her make-up was slightly less dramatic than Peggy's.

John took a sip of his coffee, grinning slightly when he realized it was plain black coffee. He always found it weird that whenever he was sucked into a painting it already knew what his preferences for things were. He wasn't sure exactly how the whole 'getting sucked into a painting for a day' worked, but it had been happening since kindergarten.

He could still clearly remember that day. He'd scared his parents half to death and a missing report had been filed, plus police officers searched for him and he appeared in the news.

When he'd reappeared a full day later in his kindergarten classroom, covered in finger paint, people thought his teacher had kidnapped him, but because they had no evidence, all that happened to the teacher was that he got fired.

John had switched schools only a week later.

Aaron came back a few minutes later, all smiles. He set his drink down and sat next to John, who was startled when Aaron began to cuddle with him. John didn't protest, finding comfort in the man's warmth.

The two spent hours just talking, which made sense since they were in a cafe. There wasn't much else to do but chat. They talked mostly about John. John could only assume it was because he didn't know anything really about Aaron, so if he were to ask him something like 'what's your favorite color?', Aaron wouldn't be able to answer because real Aaron had never mentioned it.

John got so caught up in talking to Aaron that he forgot the whole thing was temporary, only a sick illusion that John's imagination yearned for. When the colors around him started to melt and bleed away, a deep, sudden sadness filled him. He watched as Aaron, still talking away, began to melt and fade.

John almost didn't want to blink, knowing the second he did, everything would be gone. But his eyes soon became too dry to keep open and he closed them.

When he opened his eyes once more, he was back in his studio sitting on the ground. He looked up and stared at his painting of Aaron before climbing to his feet.

He stretched and grabbed his phone to check the time and day. He blinked and frowned when he saw only twelve hours had passed. That had never happened before. It always took twenty-four hours for him to come back to reality.

He bit his lip before shoving his phone into his pocket. No use questioning it now. It wasn't like he could control his ability.

He placed a sheet over the painting before walking over to the door and exiting the studio. It was currently eleven o'clock at night on a Sunday and John had about eight hours before he'd have to go to work. Instead of going to bed like a normal person, John decided to go watch kids cartoons until he was too exhausted to stay awake.

He ended up watching Spongebob Squarepants until it was two in the morning. Alexander found him fast asleep on the couch with paint covering his arms and drool sliding down his face.

"John, wake up buddy," Alexander said, roughly shaking his shoulder.

John woke with a loud snort and ended up coughing a bit, choking slightly on his own spit before wiping all the drool away. Alexander made a disgusted face and took a step back.

"One, that was gross." He said. "Two, you have work in like a half hour."

John spluttered and scrambled up. "Oh shit." He rushed to his bedroom, Alexander's amused gaze following him.

"This isn't becoming a trend, is it?" He called after him.

"Shut up!"

He grabbed a pair of jeans and quickly shuffled into them before tossing on a shirt. He then rushed into the bathroom and began to wash his arms and wherever else paint had gotten.

It took him about ten minutes to get fully clean up and at that point, he only had fifteen minutes to get to work. He rushed into the kitchen and stuffed some toast into the toaster and then whirled over to the fridge to grab some jam.

"Coffee?" Alexander asked with that shit eating grin of his.

John snatched the steaming mug out of Alexander's hands, ignoring the small sound of protest his roommate made. He gulped down almost half of the burning mixture before his toast popped back up. He grabbed it, slathered it with jam and downed the rest of his drink.

"See you after work Alex." He said, taking his jacket off the hook, shrugging it on and rushing out the door without waiting for a reply.

Thankfully, he managed to get work just on time. Peggy shot him a knowing glance, but seeing as he hadn't technically been late, she didn't chew him out. Instead, she nudged him a bit before she went to the front.

John joined her and Lee a few minutes after he'd managed to get his tangled hair up in a ponytail. The rest of the day went smoothly, but John was distracted for most of it. His thoughts kept drifting to the alternate reality he'd been treated to that weekend.

He couldn't help but wish it was true, something real, instead of just a fantasy he came up with in his mind. He yearned to cuddle with Aaron on a couch, to shower him with affection and love. To show him just how wonderful and beautiful he really was.

That train of thought quickly turned into something a bit more intimate. Images swarmed his head about how Aaron would look spread out on John's bed, face twisted with pleasure.

As soon as those thoughts appeared, they were quickly and immediately discarded. He was horrified when the images popped into his head. It was creepy, gross, and just plain wrong. It might as well be sexual assault, imaging Aaron in that way.

"Everything alright John?" Peggy asked as she prepared to leave for the day.

John gave her a tight smile and fiddled with the tip of his ponytail. "I'm fine. Just slept really shittily last night."

Peggy let out a long suffering sigh, directing a 'you are an idiot' look at him. "You need to take care of yourself John. I swear, Alexander has a bad influence on you. You two are both shit at taking care of your basic human needs."

John could only shrug with a slightly sheepish grin. "I'll see you tomorrow Pegs."

"Get some rest tonight Laurens!" She scolded on her way out.

John gave her a wave and she disappeared into the busy streets of New York.

Work flew by and there was still no sign of Aaron. John couldn't stop thinking about him and he felt an itch to draw the man. After seeing all the imperfections on John's first painting, he wanted to sketch Aaron again and create a new portrait that displayed Aaron perfectly.

Distantly, John was aware that he shouldn't be so obsessed and infatuated with a man he barely knew, but he just couldn't bring himself to care about what that logical part of his mind said to him. Aaron was beautiful, wasn't an artist's job capturing beauty in a timeless picture?

Maybe if John kept telling himself that, the guilt of what he was doing would go away.


	6. First Time

John wiped down the counters, keeping an eye on the door. It was Peggy's day off today and Hercules' shift had ended an hour or so ago, so it was just him, Lee, and Lafayette. The cafe was strangely busy for a Tuesday afternoon. Many of the tables were filled with people, chatting away.

"I'm just saying, you're completely wrong!"

John looked up from the sink when he heard a familiar voice. At the door, Alexander stood with Aaron, who looked done with life.

"John!" Alexander said cheerfully, marching over with Aaron trailing behind him. "Would you mind telling this man that he's wrong?"

He gestured to Aaron who only glared back.

"Wrong about what?" John asked warily. He knew how Alexander got when he was trying to prove a point. It didn't matter how logical the other person's argument was, if Alexander didn't agree with it, it was wrong.

"That scrambled eggs are better than omelets!"

John blinked. "Alexander, you don't even like eggs."

"That's beside the point."

John smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Alex, but I'm gonna have to agree with Aaron on this one. Omelets are pretty damn good."

Alexander gasped. "I can't believe you!" He cried dramatically. "Betrayed by my own best friend."

Behind him Aaron rolled his eyes and shot John a bemused look which John returned, trying his best not to swoon when he saw the amusement in Aaron's deep, dark eyes.

"You going to order Hamilton?" Aaron cut in. "Or are you going to make me wait?"

Still grumbling and pouting, Alexander ordered.

"Lee, one black coffee and a chocolate muffin," John said before focusing on Aaron with a smile. "What would you like?"

"Just a hot chocolate please," Aaron said and when he smiled John noticed he got crinkles around his eyes. He filed the information away for later and accepted Aaron's money.

"Coming up." He said with a wink and went to make the hot chocolate.

"So, John," Alexander said, taking a seat at the bar. "You got a crush?"

John's eyes widened and he nearly dropped the cup he was holding. "I- what? No!" He tried his hardest to fight down his blush and focused intently on the hot chocolate. "Why would you think that?"

"Despite popular belief, I'm not blind," Alexander said.

John couldn't stop his snort. Not blind, huh? Apparently, that only applied to people who weren't himself. John had spent nearly a full year crushing on his roommate, and yet he hadn't noticed a damn thing.

"Right." He said dryly.

"I'm not! Besides, what person wouldn't notice the way you stare at Aaron?"

"What about me?" Aaron asked, walking over.

Alexander grinned his Cheshire cat grin and John scrambled to say something before Alexander did.

"Here's your hot chocolate!" He practically shouted, shoving the drink into a surprised Aaron's hands. He glared at Alexander when he chortled.

"You're the worst." He mumbled. Aaron looked between the two, entirely confused. "Inside joke," John said with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it."

Aaron nodded slowly, though he still looked confused.

"So," Alexander asked. "How long have you two known each other?"

"Just under two weeks?" John said and Aaron nodded.

"Yeah, around that."

"Huh." Alexander hummed. "I'm surprised neither of you guys mentioned the other to me."

"Alexander, we don't talk." Aaron and John said at the same time. They looked at each other before bursting out in laughter. Alexander looked between the two, looking mildly offended. John's chuckles were the first to die down and when he looked over at Aaron, he felt his breath be snatched away. His throat suddenly was much too dry. He swallowed and quickly stared at his shoes. God, Aaron looked gorgeous when he was laughing. His head was thrown back a bit and his smile was positively beaming with joy and amusement and his eyes. Oh, his eyes. They twinkled like distant stares, the dark inky depths of them shining with joy. John's hands itched to attempt and capture that look with his pen.

"Yeah, yeah," Alexander said with a shake of his head. "Laugh it up you two. Thanks for the drinks, John." He placed a hand on Aaron's back and lead him to a table. "We're here to talk about our project, not for you to flirt with John."

The last thing John heard before they were out of earshot was Aaron's startled 'Hey!'.

John's face managed to stay an impressive red for most of the day. He blamed it on the heat of the cafe.

Once he returned to the apartment, thankfully ahead of Alexander, he made a beeline for his studio. The image of Aaron's laughing face had been trapped in his mind since he saw it and he was just aching to copy it onto paper. As he pulled out his sketchbook, he ignored the fact that Aaron's face had been filling it lately. It had only been a week since he'd finished his portrait of Aaron, but in that time he had begun to try and perfect Aaron's face. It was significantly more difficult without a live model, but John didn't stop. Couldn't stop. Everything Aaron did was fascinating and just begged to be put on paper. Really, it was Aaron's fault for John's no doubt unhealthy obsession. He was just too beautiful! What artist wouldn't want to draw his stupidly perfect face?

And consequently, this meant that the last few pages of John's sketchbook were filled with drawings of Aaron doing various tasks and in all sorts of positions. Any shame John felt was justified with ridiculous excuses and promptly pushed away to the deepest depths of his mind.

He was just finishing up the outline of Aaron's features when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," he said absentmindedly, frowning as he erased some lines around Aaron's eyes. Why were his eyes so fucking hard to capture?

"Thought you might want some dinner." Alexander's amused voice said.

John blinked and looked up, snatching the bag of food from Alexander's hands. "What'd you get?" He asked, setting his sketchbook on the table before rummaging through the bag.

"Just some Chinese food," Alexander said, shrugging a little. "Anyways, I'll leave you to it. See ya tomorrow."

John nodded, already digging into the food. The door clicked shut and John leaned back in his chair. He closed his eyes and conjured up Aaron's joyous face again. He thought idly that maybe he should try to capture that expression in a painting before deciding against it. He wasn't that amazing at painting, and it was hard enough to capture on a piece of paper. He couldn't imagine capturing it on a large canvas. Maybe if he ever got the courage to ask Aaron to be a live model he'd paint it. Mind you, he didn't think Aaron would be able to hold that much joy in his expression for long.

He felt a flash of annoyance rush through him. It seemed like all he ever thought about was Aaron and he just couldn't figure out what it was about that man that was so intriguing and fascinating.

He sighed before sitting up and glancing at his phone. It was ten o'clock and he considered staying up late again, but then thought of Peggy. He didn't really want to evoke her rage again, so he decided to actually go to bed.

He carefully put his sketchbook, packed up the leftover food and went to get ready to go to bed.

The next morning, he felt energized for once. Huh, maybe having a full night sleep was actually helpful. He yawned and stretched, smiling softly to himself when he realized he had actually gotten up on time.

He took his time getting ready, brushing his ridiculous hair for once and even brushing his teeth. He made a nice breakfast for himself, instead of just jamming a piece of bread in his mouth and rushing off to work.

He actually cooked eggs for the first time in forever, making Alexander an omelet in spite. Afterward, he trotted off to work. It was a shorter day today. His shift was only till three o'clock. He couldn't wait to return home and continue on with his sketch of Aaron. He was also formatting another potential portrait of him. He was craving seeing Aaron again in the inky world.

John was waiting around at the cash register when two customers walked in. He kept an eye on them as they stared at the menu, both looking thoughtful. After watching them list out the ingredients for various food items for about five minutes, John finally decided to intervene.

"Would you like some help?" He asked. One of the women looked at him and gave him a small smile.

"I'm thinking of ordering the tuna melt, is it vegan? Because I absolutely cannot have cheese as a vegan." The woman said.

John blinked before frowning. "I'm sorry, are you asking me if the sandwich has meat in it? Because it certainly has fish in it."

"No, I just want to know about the cheese. I am a very strict vegan, and need to know exactly what is in this sandwich." The customer said. John arched a brow.

"Yes, it has cheese in it, but it also has fish." He said.

"But the cheese! Just for love of God, does it have cheese? Don’t you know what a vegan is? I cannot have cheese at all!" She practically screeched. John's eyes widened and he put his hands up slightly in surrender. He had no doubt in his mind that this lady was their weird customer of the week. It'd been nearly two weeks since their last one, he knew the longer length was too good to be true.

"Yes, it has cheese in it," John said as patiently as he could. "But it also has fish. It is marked as not vegan, or even potentially vegetarian on the menu. Perhaps you would be interested in one of the other items that boast no animal products of any type.

"Are you even listening to me?" The woman said. "I said I am V-E-G-A-N. Cheese is the issue."

John took a deep breath, trying to calm down the irritation that was starting to build. Goddammit, he just wanted to go home and work on his sketch. "Yes, it has cheese in it. However, we cannot serve you vegan tuna, as it does not exist in the way you might think it does. But you are more than welcome to order it sans cheese."

"This is so insulting! I will never come here again!" The woman said.

"How dare you question her vegan lifestyle?" Her friend chimed in. "I was told this place accommodates vegan options!”

John's eye twitched and he glared at the woman and her friend. "Look, lady," he snapped. "Fish isn’t vegan, and neither is cheese. I really don’t want you to get sick over ordering food that you have said you absolutely can’t have, but I can’t make something that is meat, not meat. Fish is not vegan."

"This is an awful place, I should be able to get vegan food!"

"Then order something from the menu that says it's vegan!" John said tightly, trying his damn hardest not to yell at the customer.

The customer glared at him before her friend grabbed her by the arm and escorted her out. John could hear their grumbling about how they were 'never coming back' and that the cafe was 'against vegans and should be shut down'.

John was just glad they'd left before they could give him a headache.

"That looked like a fun conversation," Peggy said dryly as she walked over to him.

"I swear to god, some of our customers are goddamn morons! How does a vegan not know that they can't eat fish?"

Peggy only patted his shoulder sympathetically. "On the bright side, your shift is nearly over."

"Thank god for that." John bemoaned. Peggy chuckled slightly before wandering off to finish her cleaning.

He glanced at the clock hanging across from him. Only an hour left to go and then he was free! His gaze then went to the selection of pastries. A part of working here meant that employees could take whatever food they wished home with them. Maybe John would sneak a muffin or two. He was a bit hungry and kind of sick of take-out. Besides, Lafayette's muffins were to die for.

He nodded to himself. Two muffins would be good. One for dinner, the other for breakfast tomorrow.

The rest of his shift went by quickly, and John left as soon as he could. With his bag of two muffins, he happily made his way back to the apartment. Just as he was exiting the cafe, he was surprised to see Aaron standing just outside. He was even more surprised to see the cigarette between his lips.

He blinked multiple times as he watched Aaron breath in the smoke before letting it out again. He nearly dropped his muffins when he realized how hot Aaron looked.

"Uh, h-hi." He stuttered out dumbly.

Aaron's eyes widened and he fumbled slightly with the cigarette when he saw John.

"J-John!" He stammered face flushing with embarrassment and shame. "Sorry." He said, quickly putting the cigarette out.

"N-no, it's fine," John said, desperately trying to get the image of Aaron surrounded by smoke out of his head. Goddammit, why was Aaron so fucking attractive?

Aaron gave him a small smile. "I don't normally smoke." He admitted. "I've just been stressed lately." He bashfully scratched his cheek. "I don't really like it when my friends see me smoke. I know it's bad for me but I..." he sighed, looking a bit defeated. "I've grown up with smokers my whole life and started kinda young, hard to break a habit right?"

John could only nod mutely, still reeling from the image Aaron had given him. Dear god, this man was not good for his poor heart.

"Well, I'll talk to you later." Aaron gave him a little wave before entering the cafe. John swallowed, blinking furiously.

Goddammit, now he didn't know what he wanted to sketch. Aaron smoking a cigarette and looking sexy as all hell, or Aaron laughing joyfully, looking cute as all hell.

The choices of an artist were so damn difficult.


	7. And Knowing

John pursed his lips as he carefully added more detail to Aaron's face. The painting was simple, just Aaron leaning against a brick wall with a cigarette between his plump lips. It was hard to paint though because John had chosen for the picture to be set at night, so he had to be careful about the lightning. The cigarette gave off a bit of light, so he highlighted some of Aaron's features and his clothing. It was turning out quite well, and John was pleased with this portrait far more than his previous one. Aaron definitely looked more like his real self.

John smiled slightly. He'd been working on this painting for just over a week. It was turning out pretty well and he only had a few more details to add. He carefully added some wisps of smoke that curled around Aaron's body and moved up towards the starry night. A bit more shading for Aaron's body and the painting would be completed. He finished up the shading around Aaron's scarf and barely had time to set his paintbrush down before the now swirling colors reached out and dragged him into a new reality.

John let out a harsh pant, sucking in a large breath. Sometimes, traveling through to the inky world stole John's breath away. As his eyes adjusted to the new lightning, he realized he was on an extremely comfortable couch. Nowhere close to the rock like couch back in his shared apartment with Alexander. He almost didn't want to get up. He did eventually rise though. He was curious as to where Aaron was.

He looked around curiously, spotting a picture on one of the numerous bookcases. He walked over to it, eyes widening when he saw him and Aaron in suits. White suits. His heart stuttered in his chest. Were he and Aaron married in this reality?

Immediately, John glanced down at his left hand. Sure enough, a lovely wedding band rested on his ring finger.

"Holy shit..." he breathed out, right hand going to his left, gently touching the ring. He twisted it a few times, relishing in the weight and feel of it. He blinked a few times and shook his head. He tore his gaze away from his new ring and spotted a sliding glass door. He smiled when he spied a shadowy figure of someone.

He went over to the door and slipped out onto the balcony. His eyes immediately settled on Aaron's relaxed body. John watched silently as Aaron breathed in the deadly smoke before puffing it out again. God damn, that should not be as sexy as it was.

"Hey," he said softly as to not startle his apparent husband. It didn't work and Aaron still flinched, hurriedly putting the cigarette out and looking like a child who was caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"John, hey." He said, smile much too stiff for John's liking. "I'm uh, I'm sorry. I-I know you don't like me smoking..."

"Hey, it's alright babe," John said, the petname slipping out without much thought. "I know you do it when you're stressed." He smiled and gently stroked small circles behind Aaron's ear. Aaron's smiled lovingly at him and leaned into the touch.

"How 'bout we go cuddle on the couch?" John suggested. "That thing is ridiculously comfortable."

Aaron grinned and pecked his cheek. "Sounds wonderful." He murmured, ignorant of John's flaming face.

Aaron grabbed his hand and led him to the couch. John couldn't stop his eyes from traveling down. It wasn't his fault that Aaron had chosen to walk in front of him! Plus, he was wearing stupidly tight skinny jeans, it was hard not to look.

Face flushed and ashamed from his own thoughts, John barely even noticed Aaron pulling him down onto the couch until he felt his husband's warm body pressed against his own.

"You're so beautiful John." Aaron breathed out, hand going up and playing with John's hair. There was an adoring smile on his face that John couldn't help but match.

"I love you." He said before capturing Aaron in a kiss. Aaron hummed and wrapped his hands around John's neck, tugging him even closer.

John meanwhile, couldn't get enough of Aaron's mouth. The warmth, the taste, it was all so addicting. Everything about this beautiful man was addicting. His lips, so soft and plump, felt perfect against John's own, chapped from the cold New York weather and year of biting at them. He cradled Aaron's perfect jaw in his palms, feeling the soft skin there. Aaron smelt like cigarette smoke and cinnamon. It was a weirdly perfect combination, John couldn't get enough of it.

They lied on the couch together, exchanging lazy kisses, for many minutes, maybe even hours. Eventually, their lips got tired and they could only cuddle as closely together as possible on that insanely comfortable couch. Aaron ended up pulling a movie up on Netflix and they watched the movie until they both drifted off.

When John opened his eyes again, he was back in his apartment. With a groan, he raised his hand to his neck and started to attempt to work out the soreness there. A deep longing filled his chest when he caught sight of the painting. He had really liked that other reality. Cuddling, kissing, loving Aaron... being married to Aaron. It was amazing and he wanted more. He wanted everything.

He climbed to his feet, suppressing a yawn as he cleaned up his supplies. A quick check of his phone told him that he'd only been away for twelve hours again. He ran his hand through his hair, a sharp pain in his heart when he remembered how Aaron had played with his hair. God, he ached for that again.

John carefully brought the brick wall painting down and replaced it with a new canvas. He had to get back to that alternate reality. He had to. Since he couldn't have real-life Aaron, he would gladly settle for alternate Aaron.

As he stared at the blank canvas, he considered how he would draw Aaron next. Maybe while he was studying in the cafe? Or perhaps him bundled up in a heavy coat and scarf while staring up at the starry night. Both sounded appealing but didn't feel quite right.

John felt his eyes droop, desperately wanting to close. Pursing his lips, he decided to go to bed for the night.

As he left the studio, he began to register just how exhausted he felt. He was a bit startled at the fact that his limbs were heavy and how he wanted nothing more than to lay his head down on a soft pillow and never open his eyes again.

He did end up opening his eyes again. Sadly. His alarm blared in his ear and startled him out of sleep. He sat up with a yawn and stretched, glancing at the time. Seven-thirty in the morning. He groaned and dropped his head back on his pillow. Why did he have so many morning shifts again?

Realizing he had to get to work in a half-hour, John forced himself out of bed and into the shower. No doubt he stank of paint and seeing as paint wasn't really a smell people went for nowadays, he figured he should probably wash it off.

A quick shower led to breakfast where Alexander was half-asleep on the counter.

"You good Alex?" John asked.

"Coffee," he moaned in response. John snorted and walked over to the coffee maker.

"It'll be done in a minute." He said, patting Alexander tangled mess of hair sympathetically. Alexander whimpered rather pathetically and John laughed.

The coffee maker beeped as John was pouring milk into his cereal and he grinned when Alexander sprang to his feet and rushed to the machine to get his beloved caffeine.

"Oh thank god." He groaned after his first sip. "If I had to go another second without this I would've fucking exploded I swear."

John snorted and ate some of his cereal.

Alexander peeked over and wrinkled his nose. "Is that Lucky Charms?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Argh! They're disgusting! How can you eat such an abomination?"

John stared directly at him and shoved more cereal into his mouth.

"Aw! Gross! Disgusting. Oh man, I regret being your friend." He said, lip curled in obvious disgust.

"You love me," John said, nudging his side and nearly causing the smaller man to fall off his stool.

Alexander yelped. "My coffee!"

John rolled his eyes. "Your coffee is fine Alex. Chill."

Alexander cradled his cup close and glared at his friend before chugging the whole thing. John finished his cereal a few minutes later and returned to his bedroom to grab his bag and phone.

"I'm off Alex!" He shouted and received a grunt for his efforts. Smile on his face, he headed to work.

Work was slow, but Peggy kept it lively with her antics. Like wasting whip cream to make weird mustaches and other facial hair. Aaron didn't show, but John wasn't particularly surprised. He was surprised when his phone dinged with a text. He quickly snuck his phone out and checked, eyes widening when he saw an unknown number.

Unknown:  
It's Aaron. I'm free at three, want to get coffee?

John stared. That was a date, right? Aaron was asking him out on a date, he had to be. Did platonic friends just go out for coffee? Surely not.

"What's with that big dumb grin?" Peggy asked, peeking over his shoulder. The second she finished reading the text, she squealed, right in his ear.

"Christ!" John yelped, free hand flying to his poor ear. "Jesus Peggy."

"You have a date!" She shrieked.

"It's not, I doubt it's a date Pegs. And keep your voice down." He hissed.

"John Laurens, there is no way that is just an invitation to just 'hang out'." She said. "He's totally into you!"

"I dunno Peggy..."

"Text him back!" She urged.

John pursed his lips and quickly changed the contact name before texting back.

John:  
Sounds good! Where?

A few seconds later, another text popped up. Peggy grinned. "He was totally checking his phone, waiting for your reply."

John blushed and rolled his eyes.

Ronnie<3  
What do you think of walking around Central? It's near my campus.

Peggy snorted. "Right, obviously not a date."

"I think I see a customer over there that needs your help," John said and nudged her away. She went easily, a smug grin on her face.

John:  
That sounds great!

Ronnie<3  
Meet me at Columbus Circle Holiday Market?

John grinned. He fucking loved that market. It had some of the best street food he'd ever eaten.

John:  
I'll see you at three. :)

Ronnie<3  
:)

John closed his phone with a smile. Okay, maybe this was a date. "Pegs, I don't know what to wear." He said, turning to her wide-eyed.

"I've got you." She said. "That super snazzy grey coat with the fur lining? Wear that with your black leather gloves. That nice, cozy light brown sweater is going underneath that jacket along with some blue jeans. Brown boots are your shoes. You get all that?"

John nodded. "Thanks Peggy."

"Not a problem. Your shift ends in like, ten minutes. If you wanna get there on time, you'd better get your ass home and change lightning quick."

John nodded. "Right!"

He couldn't stop the giddy smile. He had a date with Aaron!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is the smut chapter. ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on my Tumblr [hamburrfangirl](https://hamburrfangirl.tumblr.com/)!


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